Jack the Ripper

1987 computer games Commodore 64 gamesZX Spectrum gamesAmstrad games

adventure gamestext adventures

Text adventure based on the story of 19th century serial killer, who terrorized Whitechapel in East London.

Jack the Ripper was one of the many text adventures published in the 1980s on different platforms - they looked exactly the same, they had very similar construction, but each of them needed a gimmick or new mechanics to stand out of the crowd and this title actually had two. First of all, of course, was the story behind it - who did not hear about gruesome crimes of Jack the Ripper? This 19th century serial killer left his mark on the whole perception of Victorian London - it is hard to find story set in that era that would not bring memories of what was happening in the Whitechapel part of the city.

This idea gave the game Jack the Ripper the settings that is universally interesting for players - it is the ultimate mixture of mystery, true crime and gore that could move the imagination of any potential player. But the second gimmick of this title was rather unexpected - the game had, unlike most of the text adventures, a in-built time mechanism. What does that mean? It means that while you take your time to rethink your next step events can take place in the background of your story.

Jack the Ripper wasn’t the first text adventure developed by the developers from the St Bride’s School, but the reviewers of the era shared the view that it was their first that actually is worth the time to explore. The game included graphical elements, which pumped up the size of the whole game, so it was sold in 3 separate episodes. Of course, just like with any other text adventure, it required a certain mindframe from the players to immerse into text adventure.

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Jack the Ripper screenshots

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